The signs have been there for some time, and here’s more evidence: Libraries are increasing in importance in American communities: Use is not declining because we get more and more of our information from the Internet and read fewer books and magazines.
Moreover, it’s not just the recession that’s driving people to libraries for free books, computer use, classes and advice. The trend for the last 11 years, through economic ups and downs, is rather steady growth. Libraries seem to be well on their way to becoming a “third space,” like the Starbucks on the corner (even if, or maybe because, they don’t look like this Candida Hofer image of a library in Portugal).
The latest research on this comes from the Institute for Museum and Library Services, which just published “Service Trends in U.S. Public Libraries, 1997-2007.” It says that per capita visits to libraries over the period grew 19% nationwide, from just over 4.1 per year to just over 4.9 per year. Per person visits are lower in non-metro areas than in metro areas.
The “third space” designation is reinforced by a second set of numbers — “circulations,” or the number of books, DVDs, etc. that are checked out. Those have declined. In 1997, for every 1,000 visits to the library, there were 1,600 “circulations.” That number dipped below 1,500 in 2000, but has since resumed climbing and was last recorded at 1,511 per 1,000 visits.
Instead of checking things out, people are definitely using library computers, which are growing in number — up 90% from 1.9 per 5,000 residents in a community in 1997 to 3.6 per 5,000 residents in 2007. (Where do they get these metrics? Shouldn’t they be standardized?)
Even so, spending on electronic materials remains at less that 11.5% of total expenditures for collections — so books, presumably, aren’t getting short shrift. (Which books are being bought is another matter — not subject of this study, alas.)
Becoming, and remaining, a “third space” forbodes other changes in libraries, which the report states but doesn’t explore in depth. The best libraries are offering more services — help to their constitutents in many areas, from literacy to living. They are becoming more essential, which is a big reason I was so upset earlier this year when the Seattle Public Library simply closed for a week.
Libraries are becoming more like community centers, with the community built around getting and giving information. I think that’s a good thing, though I deplore the idea going around in some quarters that art museums should become community centers — that’s simply too far a stretch from their core mission. More about which another time.
Photo: © Candida Hofer, Courtesy Sonnabend Gallery